Solo Effects has released Kiwi FX version 1.1.

Kiwi FX is a set of image creation and manipulation tools used for a wide variety of tasks from simple image format conversion to complex image compositing operations. It includes a shader class used for creating highly detailed, procedural textures and bump maps as well as many other 2D and 3D image operations.

Click here to download a free 30 day trial.

The RNS Team developed a physically based ray tracer to create images of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These synthetically generated images were used to test the pose estimation algorithm used in the RNS experiment, during STS-125.

The image below compares a synthetically generated image (on the left) with an actual image (on the right). The image on the right was taken from the RNS long-range camera on board the Space Shuttle Atlantis during STS-125, in May 2009.

Solo Effects contributed to the construction of the 3D HST model and the development of the physically based renderer used to generate the simulated image on the left. See this article for more information about the RNS experiment and the software used to create the simulated image.

NASA Goddard CAVE

A CAVE is an immersive environment designed to create the illusion of total submersion in a 3D environment. The CAVE at NASA Goddard has four walls and includes a head tracker with stereo glasses and a wand used to control navigation through the virtual environments.

Solo Effects has worked on many of the 3D models used in the CAVE and has been a key contributor in the development of the software used in the CAVE.

See this article in Goddard Tech Trends for more information about the NASA Goddard CAVE.